A panel of medical experts here gave a nod to US pharmaceutical company Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Monday.

The advisory panel’s review is the first of the three-stage evaluation process before South Korea gives final approval. The next stage of the evaluation is scheduled on Thursday.

If finally approved, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine would become the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to receive an approval from the South Korean government, following the vaccines developed by AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen.

During the latest review, the seven-member panel reviewed data from Moderna‘s clinical trials conducted upon 28,207 participants.

The panel said the clinical data showed the vaccine had an overall 94.1 percent efficacy rate in preventing disease, with efficacy only slightly lower among over-65s, ast 86.4 percent.

Among those vaccinated with Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, there were no patient who developed severe symptoms or died of COVID-19, the panel added.

The panel of experts noted that mild reactions were reported in some vaccine recipients, but the symptoms disappeared in one to three days.

The South Korean government signed a contract with Moderna to receive vaccines for 20 million people.

US biotech firm Moderna’s mRNA-1237 vaccine is one of the COVID-19 vaccines that needs to be kept at low temperatures, like the vaccine developed by Pfizer.

By Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)